The Major Questions Doctrine and the Future of EPA Climate Regulation: Statutory Interpretation, Agency Authority, and the Limits of Environmental Governance
The Major Questions Doctrine has altered the framework through which courts determine whether Congress has delegated consequential regulatory authority to administrative agencies. Although West Virginia v. EPA arose from the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulation of greenhouse-gas emissions under the Clean Air Act, its significance extends beyond environmental law. The decision consolidated an emerging line of cases requiring clear congressional authorization when agencies assert authority of extraordinary economic or political significance. Subsequent decisions, including Biden v. Nebraska and Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, further reinforce the judiciary’s role in determining the existence and boundaries of administrative authority.
The doctrine responds to a legitimate separation-of-powers concern by requiring consequential exercises of agency power to remain traceable to congressional authorization. Its application, however, creates a corresponding institutional difficulty. Congress frequently legislates through general statutory standards designed to accommodate changing technologies, scientific understanding, and regulatory conditions. Because the Major Questions Doctrine lacks a determinate test for identifying when a question becomes “major” or how much statutory clarity is then required, its application may transfer substantial discretion from administrative agencies to courts. The doctrine’s long-term significance therefore lies not only in its consequences for EPA climate regulation, but in its emerging role in defining the allocation of interpretive authority among Congress, administrative agencies, and the judiciary.
Beyond Prohibition: Governance and Access to Post-Abortion Care After Dobbs
Post-abortion care remains formally protected as routine, outcome-neutral health care under federal emergency-treatment obligations, Medicaid coverage rules, and prevailing medical standards. After Dobbs, however, access to this care is increasingly shaped by administrative systems operating beyond direct abortion prohibitions. Examining Medicaid eligibility classifications, provider-compliance requirements, enforcement uncertainty, and reporting practices in Idaho, Texas, and Oklahoma—alongside comparative international examples—this paper demonstrates how formally lawful care may become practically constrained. These mechanisms can alter provider behavior, undermine patient confidentiality and institutional trust, disrupt continuity of care, and deter patients from seeking timely treatment. The resulting framework reveals a broader transformation in reproductive-health regulation: health-care administration itself increasingly functions as a form of reproductive governance, weakening the distinction between the formal legality of post-abortion care and its effective accessibility.
Psychedelics and Their Potential in Therapeutic Practice
Psychedelic substances have a long history of spiritual and medicinal use, but their association with recreational drug culture and classification as Schedule I controlled substances largely halted clinical research in the United States. Recent studies, however, indicate that psychedelics—particularly psilocybin—may reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression, addiction, and other psychological conditions when administered alongside psychotherapy in controlled settings. Emerging research also suggests possible anti-inflammatory applications. Although psychedelics present risks, including acute psychological distress and rare long-term adverse reactions, those risks are strongly influenced by dosage, environment, and medical supervision. Current evidence supports continued clinical research into psychedelic-assisted therapy and reconsideration of psilocybin’s regulatory classification, while emphasizing the need for controlled administration, precise dosing, and further study of its safety and therapeutic efficacy.
The Relationship Between Gender and Risk
Gender differences in risk-taking were examined through a naturalistic observational study of helmet use among adults biking, skateboarding, or rollerblading. Sixteen researchers observed 115 individuals—38 perceived as female and 77 perceived as male—in public locations across Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah. A chi-square test revealed a statistically significant relationship between perceived gender and helmet use, χ²(1) = 4.20, p = .04, with females more likely than males to wear helmets. These findings support prior research suggesting that men are generally more willing to engage in risky behavior. However, the study’s conclusions are limited by its narrow measure of risk, unequal group sizes, and researchers’ subjective classification of participants’ gender. Further research using broader measures and more representative samples is necessary to clarify the relationship between gender and risk-taking behavior.
Priming, Perception, and the Phenomena of Ambiguous Figures
Ambiguous figures are images in which multiple interpretations of the image can be perceived without alteration of the physical properties of the image. The ambiguity around this phenomenon led our research team to conduct a study comparing the relationship between the priming effect and image perception. We hypothesized that participants would be more likely to perceive the image within the ambiguous figure that color-coordinates with the color shown during the priming phase of the study. For this study, participants were shown a 3-minute video depicting the color white or the color black. They were then shown 5 ambiguous figures and asked which image within the figure they saw first. There was not enough evidence to support our hypothesis or conclude that there was a significant relationship between the priming effect and the color of the image perceived first.
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women
Indigenous women in the United States and Canada experience disproportionately high rates of violence, disappearance, and murder. The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women movement seeks to confront this crisis through public awareness, data collection, policy reform, and greater accountability from law enforcement and government institutions. Although the movement has gained visibility and encouraged state and federal action, inadequate resources, unreliable data, jurisdictional barriers, and systemic discrimination continue to obstruct meaningful progress.